Mind Games
by anti-viper
Summary: Ivan, despite his fondness for Sheba, isn't too pleased when she tricks him while playing chess. Perhaps a different kind of game is necessary to truly decide the winner, and perhaps Sheba will be willing to up the ante to make things a little more... interesting.


_I tried working on MTJATE. Hit a roadblock 2,000 words in and lost motivation. Started working on the second chapter of Alight, hit about 1,000 words and while I liked some of the ideas I still couldn't get it going (both of those should be updated soon, though). Considered starting ANOTHER multichap, and then whatever pieces of sanity still exist in my brain shot down that idea._

_So, this is now here as a result, and I had a lot of fun writing it, which was nice. It was supposed to be about 1,000 words long, but considering I'm me and love overwriting, about 4,000. :D . I just wanted to do a fun one-shot, and since I never write Ivan and no one ever ships Ivan I wrote this._

_While I like working on a schedule, at some points I just like to do whatever the heck I want, and I think I might try that a bit more. I actually was going to name it Checkmate, but I think that sounds better suited to some kind of Alex related fic, so I went with Mind Games, equally as corny but more appropriate. Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

**Mind Games**

Ivan gently lifted his knight off of the chessboard, and let it hang in mid-air as he rethought his proposed move. This being one of several times he had paused as such, in each instance returning his piece to its original tile and picking up another. Ivan, a master chess player, having devoted much time to learning and dominating the game, should in no way be having this issue.

Well, the game wasn't so much the problem as was the player at the other end of the board. Even now, she sat like some kind of smiling tarantula, her hands touching at the fingers and masking her face, just barely hiding her gleeful grin. She had tricked him, oh yes, she had gotten him good, and he was in quite the pickle.

"Could I have a go?" She had asked him innocently, after Ivan had polished off Mia (the only member of their original party who had continually played with him, with Isaac having no interest and Garet nearly throwing the chess set off the boat after eighteen consecutive losses) once more. Piers had matched wits with Ivan a few times, and those had been fun and even matches, but the Jupiter Adept hadn't expected any of the other new additions to show any interest in his favorite past-time.

So, when Sheba had asked him so kindly and with even a slight bit of nervousness, the thought of saying "no" hadn't even crossed his mind. He she must had grown interested in the game from seeing him play it so much; after all, she had taken to stopping by the room in which he usually played, often pulling up a chair and sitting with her stomach to its back, her nose and eyes just peeking out from behind it.

Ivan, though, should have sensed something was amiss when the girl who fell from the sky had casually asked if he would be interested in a small wager. "Just a thousand coins," She had quipped lightly, and while that was no meager sum, he had shrugged it off. _She was probably just joking, _he had thought. _I'll go easy on her_, _so she doesn't get discouraged, and when I win by a bit I'll let her keep her money. _How kind of him… more like how stupid.

Ivan had long been interested in the younger Jupiter Adept, for a variety of reasons. She had a certain air to her; she was simply special, even ignoring the fact that she had fallen from the sky. She also was one of the few Jupiter Adepts known in existence, and having spent half of his life considering himself a freak and the subsequent half lamenting the lack of someone similar to him, her very existence was comforting.

She certainly has some oddities to her, and her bubbly and carefree nature was hard to find. Sheba more or less zoomed around the ship, and always seemed to be up to something. So, what if she was a bit of a trouble maker? It livened things up on the ship, and while Mia may have not approved, the week the Mercury Adept had been tricked into dying her hair forest green had been amusing for the rest of the party.

Of course, Sheba was also very pretty, her odd hairstyle and twinkling green eyes contributing further to her individuality. Somehow, despite living next to a desert, she had a fairly pale complexion, at least compared to the tanned skin of most Laliverans. And her smile, oh boy: a pumpkin grin every time, and she showed it off often.

"Going to make a move anytime soon, blondy?" Sheba quipped, jovial menace dancing in her bright eyes. She knew she had him in her clutches, and was just waiting for him to run out of stalling moves. And, judging by his dancing around the board, that moment was coming quickly.

He gulped and shrugged, placing the knight in reluctance. Sheba's smile was revealed as she reached down her hand, slamming his knight off the bored with her bishop. Her eyes flicked up towards his as she shrugged happily, teasing him into making his next move, even though they both knew he wasn't willing to rush.

Regardless of his inability to win, he would try, hoping she might slip up in her joyous tormenting of him. After all, playing with your prey was always an invitation to let your prey get away.

Somehow, though, he knew he was a goner. She had tricked him through and through, pretending to not know what she was doing and actually acting embarrassed (the nerve!) for the first five minutes of their game, when in reality she had been setting the board for a brutal assault on his pieces. After those five minutes had passed, her unsure countenance had morphed into that of a villain moments away from the sweet taste of their grand scheme coming to fruition.

All sense of Ivan going easy on her had evaporated when he had gulped at her shift in expression, and gasped when she had smacked his queen aside with malice. Sadly, by that point his defenses had been decimated, as he had swept his eyes across the board and had realized that she had set up a truly unstoppable offense. And now, every other turn one of his pieces would go flying off the table. He was getting beaten at his own game.

Ivan liked Sheba a good deal, but he couldn't help but feel some bitterness at being so brilliantly manipulated. Still, at least it was an excuse to spend time with her, and he could probably ask her for a rematch, albeit he was unlikely to get his gold back. Ivan, despite all his interest in Sheba, hadn't really gotten much of a chance to bond or talk to her. Part of that was his own reserved nature, but she seemed to act different around him.

With Felix, Jenna, Piers, and even Garet, Isaac, and Mia, though having only known them for a month, she seemed much more outgoing and chipper. What if she thought he was a bit of a downer?

Ivan sighed as he realized he was stalling, but losing in this fashion was insufferable: in the one realm he reigned in, at the hands of a girl he had a crush on no less. But… wait! Ivan smiled as he saw a small opening, a direct line to her king if he moved his bishop. Knowing that he may not have another shot if he waited, Ivan raised his bishop and streaked it across the board with gusto.

"Check!" He proclaimed proudly, and Mia, who had been watching with interest and muted amusement at the ditch Ivan had dug himself into, clapped lightly at his move. Sheba's face turned from one of maniacal delight to wide-eyed disbelief.

"I-Ivan… no fair, I was winning!" She pouted, propping her cheek on her fist and scanning the board sullenly. "Well… I always suppose…" Sheba's defeated look flipped to one of victory. "I could always do THIS." Ivan saw the flaw in his plan the moment before her fingers grasped her queen and slashed it into his bishop, to such a harsh degree that it flew into the doorway and a passing Jenna's forehead.

"CHECK. MATE. Guess who's a thousand coins richer, ya pansy!" Sheba shouted in triumph, jumping onto the chess board and kicking off the remaining pieces of Ivan's side while he slumped into his arm chair. With a sigh, he began to search for his bag of coins while Mia giggled at Sheba's celebration, and a slightly annoyed Jenna marched into the room.

"Sheba, you dented my head!" Jenna growled, lifting the Jupiter Adept off the chess set and dropping her to the floor.

"Oh! Sorry Jen!" Sheba said, her excited tone fading in favor of slight remorse. "I was just excited, I beat Ivan in chess! Oh, that reminds me…" She turned to Ivan, who had fished out his bag. "Pay up."

Ivan smiled weakly, and sighed. "Good strategy, Sheba… you really took it to me," He mutterer, lifting himself out of his seat. "However, what if we… raised the ante?" Sheba's eyebrow rose, and despite some hesitancy, she was clearly intrigued.

"Go on…" She whispered, and Ivan smiled.

"Well, seeing as you and I are both Jupiter Adepts… I've been interested in having a battle of wits where, we actually have a battle of wits. A battle of the minds, as it were, where whoever breaks into the other's brain wins double," Ivan explained, Sheba's eyes lighting up as he finished.

"Oooh… sounds cool," Jenna whispered, taking a seat next to Mia and leaning on her own kneecaps. "You up for it Shebs?"

"Pfff, of course," Sheba replied boastfully. "It is house money, after all, seeing as this is our Lemurian Ship. And I think I've already made it clear I can outsmart Ivan."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Mia replied cheerfully, smiling at Ivan. "He's gotten us out of more than a few puzzles and traps. I think it's a very fair fight."

"So, double or nothing it is, then?" Ivan inquired, slowly realizing the only way to prove his worth to Sheba was to beat her at her own game.

"Sure," She replied, but then her smile sunk a bit. "Sorry about kind of cheating you out of your money. I got a little carried away."

Ivan chuckled and shook his head, replying, "Don't worry about it! You outsmarted me, fair and square. But just a warning: I'll be prepared this time." Sheba smiled and nodded in return, and Jenna coughed.

"Alright, on the count of three… one, two, three!" The Mars Adept shouted, and as she spoke the last number both of the Jupiter Adepts fell into a sort of trance. Their eyes became locked, a colossal clash of green and purple, while each of their brows furrowed. Ivan gripped the sides of the chair tightly, while Sheba simply cracked her knuckles, one by one, over and over again.

"Wow," Mia said after a minute of dead silence. "This is some serious stuff." Jenna nodded in amusement and agreement, watching the battle carefully, wondering what was actually occurring in their minds. Physically, not much occurred between sparse blinking, Sheba's knuckles cracking, and the occasional twitch.

Inside the battle, things were much more interesting. _You're smart,_ Sheba said telepathically, drawing a light smile out of Ivan. He had figured this battle would lead to them trying to distract one another, and said attempts appeared to be beginning.

After a solid minute of ducking and weaving around Sheba's mental probes and failing to connect on any of his own pulses, Ivan had resolved to fend off her attacks and slowly build up for larger, more tactical strikes. Sheba was focused on darting all around his mind, striking wildly and trying to overload him.

The entire experience was, needless to say, fairly odd, and hard to describe. It was almost like they each had their own minds, and a separate space in between them which was serving as their battleground in which they would project and attempt to hack or weasel into the other's conscious. All the while, they could communicate, with such conversations becoming much more frequent as they grew used to the sensation.

_You're very smart as well, _he replied mentally. _And very beautiful, _he added to himself, before realizing with alarm that she was IN his mind. He tried to ignore what he had just done, knowing that if he dwelled on his foolish thought he would definitely lose.

It made it significantly harder to block out what he had said when she replied, _Haha, okay. Telepathic flirting? Cute._ Ivan gulped again, but stayed the course.

_I apologize, slipped my mind_, He replied, before smiling slightly. Time to try a distraction. _Besides, I was under the impression you weren't too fond of me._

_ Eh? Why would you…_ Sheba trailed off, and he wondered if she was taking the bait, even though his words held some truth to them. _Oooh, clever. And here I thought I was the one with all the low blows._

_ I'm serious, _Ivan retorted, wincing as he reflected a particularly vicious entry into his mind, for what he assumed was her anger at what she believed (partially correctly) to be him trying to trick her. _You seem off around me, and you just succeeded in cheating me out of a thousand coins._

There was silence on her end, till she bitterly replied, _That's not it at all. I'm sorry if I've come off that way. It's just weird, meeting another person like me. Another Jupiter Adept. And with the chess, I was just trying to have some fun. I really like you, Ivan, and—_

Ivan smiled as his latest attack came closer than any of his others had, and her eyes widened in shock before she smiled fiercely. _You smug bastard,_ She hissed, though she didn't sound very annoyed. _I'm not going to let you win that easily. _

_ I figured, _Ivan replied, slight guilt souring his near victory at playing her while she was being so heartfelt. _Sorry about the attack, what you were saying was really sweet. I'm really glad I've met another Jupiter Adept, to be honest._

_ Hehe,_ She muttered. _And here I thought I had found a worthy opponent, and then you start apologizing for trying to win? Maybe this will be a breeze after all._

Ivan smiled, and replied, _If you think I'm going to let you win for a second time, then you are sorely mistaken. _

"Hey guys, what are you all up to… particularly our resident Jupiter Adepts," Piers asked, striding into the room.

"They're having a battle of the minds!" Jenna said in a dramatic voice, moving her fingers in a spooky manner as she did so, drawing a chuckle out of Piers and a giggle out of Mia.

"Sounds intriguing," Piers replied, taking a seat. "I'm on my break from steering, so might as well watch them… er, stare at each other."

"Yeah, I've seen more interesting games," Jenna admitted. "But, hey, at the least Sheba isn't flinging chess pieces into my face anymore.

"Ah, they were playing chess earlier then?" Piers inquired, and Mia nodded.

"Yes… Sheba tricked Ivan," Mia explained as her attention turned towards Garet and Isaac, who had just entered the room. "You see, she pretended to be clueless as to how to play, until she was in a position to win and then dissected him. It was quite fun to watch."

"Whoa, is this a mind battle?" Garet exclaimed as he and Isaac approached. "I've got bets on Ivan! He's outsmarted me enough to not risk betting against him, that's for sure."

"Garet, no gambling," Isaac said, shaking his head. "Not after the mess you made in Tolbi. I don't know HOW you managed to get all of our coins, let alone blow them all and get in such debt. Lucky for you Mia knew how to roll with the best of them."

"I will neither confirm nor deny that I am good at gambling or have ever gambled," Mia said with a knowing smile, and both Isaac and Garet laughed.

_Well well, we've got an audience, _Sheba said, clearly amused. _All the better to beat you in front of more people. _

_A little confident, are we?_ Ivan asked rhetorically, deciding to address their friends gathered around. "Enjoying the show, guys?" He said, using his voice for a change, and Garet coughed.

"Actually, this is really boring," The Mars Adept replied. "How the hell can we actually tell who wins? I'm just waiting to see the result. So hurry up and beat her, Ivan."

"Go Sheba!" Jenna exclaimed, pushing Garet out of the way. "No one reads minds like you can! Take it to him!"

"It seems we are divided amongst party lines," Piers mused, while Isaac shrugged.

"Whoever wins, wins," The stoic Venus Adept replied. "I think they both are spectacular at reading minds, so I think it's a coin flip at this rate.

"…What on Weyard are all of you doing?" Felix asked, walking into the room and eyeing Sheba and Ivan with intrigue and slight distaste.

"Watching a mind battle," Mia replied, while Jenna rolled her eyes.

"Oh no! It's Felix, and we're having fun! Quick, hide before he can ruin it!" The Mars Adept teased, and Felix sighed.

"It's fine… it just looks weird," Felix replied, still eyeing the game's players with uncertainty. "Not really surprised that Sheba is doing something weird though, considering her affinity for putting my hair into a ponytail."

Sheba's arm shot out as her fist collided with Felix's stomach, causing him to bend over and wince. "Thanks for distracting her Felix, I almost just won," Ivan whispered as he smiled, starting to gain an upper hand. He realized that, while he wasn't letting the outside distractions get to him, Sheba was trying to block them out and wasting energy doing so.

"After all, these are high stakes," Ivan continued, and Felix raised an eyebrow.

"There's a bet going on? What's the ante?" Felix asked.

"Oh, not much," Ivan replied steadily, an idea suddenly shooting into his mind. "If Sheba wins, she gets 2,000 coins, and if I win she agreed to give me a kiss."

Jenna and Mia raised eyebrows, knowing what Ivan had said to be a lie, and Garet burst out laughing while Piers and Isaac sent Ivan odd looks. Felix and Sheba had by far the worst reactions though, as the Venus Adept sent a death glare at Ivan, who for a small moment thought Felix was about to throw him overboard, before his stony gaze fell upon Sheba.

Sheba, seeing Felix's look of disappointment and shock and knowing how overprotective of her he was, turned from Ivan, breaking eye contact, and shouted, "He's lying, Felix! I bet him 2,000 coins, not a kiss!" At that moment, Ivan surged forward with the strike he had been storing, and pierced Sheba's mental defenses.

Her eyes widened in surprise, before she turned and muttered, "Dammit," while Ivan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good game, Sheba. That was close," He replied, extending his hand out for a handshake.

Mia patted Ivan on the back, saying, "Good job! You won it back!" causing Felix to exhale.

"Oh, thank Venus that kissing thing was just a ploy," He muttered, gulping as Sheba glared at him.

"Thanks for being happy that I lost," She grumbled, before turning to Ivan's outstretched hand. "Actually…" Sheba slapped Ivan's hand out of the way, leaping forward and smacking her lips onto his and driving him back into the arm chair. The rest of the party, shocked at her action (especially Felix, whose normally glue-shut jaw was gaping), stared as she stayed on top of Ivan for five seconds before gracefully leaping off.

"You changed the ante, so I delivered," Sheba said loudly with a smirk, and a bit of a blush. Ivan, his hair completely disheveled, lifted himself up, a dazed look across his face. "Oh, and Ivan…"

Sheba brought her finger to her lips, and smiled. "Despite the fact I won, I wouldn't mind playing with you again. I'll be in the crow's nest later, if you're interested in playing games of a more… physical nature." With that, the Jupiter Adept turned around and strutted out of the room, leaving silence behind her.

"Well, I guess Sheba plays for keeps," Isaac muttered after a few moments, and the rest of the party nodded.

"I thought I won?" Ivan replied, rubbing his head as his heart bounced around in his chest. What a kiss.

"Oh… she kept your coins, but you got a kiss out of it," Mia replied, helping her friend up. "So I'd call it a bit of a tie, unless you want your… game in the crow's nest tonight to be the tiebreaker."

Ivan smiled, sheepishly rubbing his head as he realized everyone in the room had just watched him kiss (or, get kissed), making him more than a little embarrassed. "I, uh, I'll take the tie. I'm going to go read, I guess," He stuttered, turning around and leaving a fuming Felix and a smiling Jenna and Mia giggling about young love.

He breathed out as he made his way down the hallway. And just when he thought he had won, too… Ivan smiled widely as what had just occurred truly sank in. Well, maybe playing the tiebreaker wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. And, at this point, he didn't think losing really would be that bad, since Sheba happened to be a very fun opponent to play with.

* * *

_I generally don't like a character until I write them, or I don't like them as much until I write them, and this is the first real case of me writing Ivan. Or, at least with him playing a starring role. And I had fun with it :D ._

_I liked writing Sheba as well, because I always have fun writing Sheba. Getting her to trick Ivan was very cool to write, as was the war of minds (I always wondered what would happen if two Jupiter Adepts tried to read each other's minds)._

_Anyway, for once I'm content with the first author's note being the longer (rare), and leave off here. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!_


End file.
